Duck-helping woman won’t serve prison sentence pending appeals

MONTREAL – A Quebecer who was convicted after two people died when their motorcycle crashed into her car as she helped ducks on a highway has had her prison sentence delayed.

Emma Czornobaj was sentenced last month to 90 days in prison on weekends and had her driver’s licence withdrawn for 10 years.

The Quebec Court of Appeal suspended those provisions on Friday pending her appeal of the sentence as well as of her conviction on two counts of criminal negligence causing death and two of dangerous driving causing death.

After Czornobaj stopped her car in June 2010 to rescue ducklings on the side of a Montreal-area highway, the motorcycle carrying Andre Roy and his teenager daughter Jessie slammed into her vehicle.

The Quebec Superior Court justice who handed down the sentencenoted that Czornobaj, 26, showed no remorse during the trial and described the tragedy as an accident.

The Crown had been seeking nine months of detention and 240 hours of community service, while the defence argued she should only get the community service.

One of Czornobaj’s lawyers, Jean-Francois Bouveret, said he believes the appeals might be heard only in 2016.

In his ruling Friday, Quebec Court of Appeal Justice Yves-Marie Morissette said Czornobaj must keep the peace.